ICYMI: An anonymous Obama administration official called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "chickenshit" in an interview with The Atlantic this week. Israeli officials have responded with measured indignation. What you might not know is that this is just the latest salvo in a war of words that started over the summer. In a piece for Slate, Joshua Keating suggests that this is happening precisely because neither America nor Israel can do much else; the two countries are stuck with each other, even though they really wish they weren't.

This sort of passive-aggressive name-calling is really weak sauce, so let me tell you about some aggressive-aggressive trash-talking that went recently. As you might know, Australia is hosting the next G20 meeting next month. At a press conference two weeks ago, reporters asked Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott about Russian President Vladimir Putin's attendance at said meeting. His response? "Look, I'm going to shirt-front Mr. Putin, you bet I am. Australians were murdered... by Russian-backed rebels using Russian-supplied equipment." This was a reference to the downing of flight MH17 over rebel-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine.

If you're like me, you have no idea what "shirt-front" means. Well, it turns out that to shirt-front someone is to deliver a full blow to the chest of an opponent. Sort of like a head-on tackle in American football. Or, more colloquially, knocking the shit out of someone. Now, Tony Abbott sounds like a real bad ass, right?

Two things to consider. First, Abbott might want to keep in mind that Putin is a former KGB operative and has a black belt in Judo. And, unlike some of this other sketchier exploits, his Judo skills seem to be legit. Second, I'd like to comment Abbott for being a world leader that actually has some guts. Unlike the Obama administration, Tony doesn't hide behind anonymity when he said he wanted to physically punish and humiliate Russia's head of state.

Russia's response was two-fold. On one hand, Putin showed great restraint. Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev gave a reply on his behalf that was cold, cryptic, and made him sound like he was a Bond villain. He said "If he prefers sports terms, well, then Mr. Putin is very interested in sports... They might have a very interesting conversation." I can just imagine Medvedev pulling a solid gold pistol out of his jacket and gently stroking it while saying "yes, every interesting" to himself.

On the other hand, the Kremlin's unofficial mouthpiece held nothing back. Pravda journalist (and native-born Englishman) Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey delivered a white-hot diatribe against Tony Abbott that included these following gems:

"Put up or shut up"

"... ready yourself for a lawsuit over [sic] slander"

"... you are full of hot air or, in plain English, piss and wind"

"President Putin's popularity ratings are up above ninety percent, that is 90%. What are yours?"

Bancroft-Hinchey might deserve his own Weird IR post at some point. He's the unofficial voice of Putin when he's angry at the West, and he's written some crazy stuff in the past. Last year, he trashed Vancouver as being the "skinny and weakling bro to a beefy United States" and called Canada a "colonial outpost to the United Kingdom." He also claimed at one point to be a songwriter to the starts and a Eurovision participant.

We'll see how things shake out between Abbott and Putin when they meet in Brisbane next month.

Remember that recent brawl between the Serbian and Albanian national soccer teams? The one that was set off by a drone flying a nationalist Albanian flag? The very same one that resulted in the Albanian team fleeing the stadium, city, and country without looking back?

Well, I have a update. It turns out that people are accusing Olsi Rama, brother of Albanian Prime Minister Ebi Rama, of piloting that infamous drone. He was detained by Serbian authorities after the rumble, but was released without charges filed.

Another issue is the fact that Olsi was there in the first place. Albanians were banned from attending the game from the get-go, in an attempt to avoid the very type of confrontation that took place.

Rumors are circulating that Olsi used "European connections" (whatever that means) to sneak into the country for the game. Another allegation is that he used his U.S. passport (he's a dual citizen, apparently) to sneak in. EU and US officials were summoned to Belgrade to confront these allegations, which they denied.

When asked about the incident, Olsi said "I've never flown a drone in my life!" Right on, bro. A couple of days after the accusations went public, a group of fans claimed responsibility. It all seems a little dubious to me. And a little ridiculous.

By the way, if you're thinking about flying a Greater Albanian flag over the World Series tonight, just don't. The FAA wants to remind you that drone flyovers are still illegal, whether flag-bearing or not.

Soccer in the Ballkans is inherently political. Local clubs in the former Yugoslavia align formally and informally with political parties, ethnicities, and even economic sectors. Who you root for says something to your neighbors about your class, your job, and who you vote for.

It's something that doesn't really mesh with my American sensibilities. Personally, I look forward to watching a baseball game expressly because it will distract me from thinking about politics. Hell, baseball is so tame that in some midwestern cities, home fans will clap for the visiting team if they make a good play.

At the national level, soccer in the former Yugoslavia cuts across local cleavages. Croats tend to root for the Croatian team, Montenegrins will cheer on the Montenegro team, and so on.

(By the way, isn't Montenegro the coolest name for a country ever? It means Black Mountain, which makes a Montenegrin a Black Mountaineer. So badass.)

Anyway, despite the fact that a lot of people get behind their national team, the politics don't really go away. They just get very nationalistic.

Last night, things got a little crazy at a Euro 2016 qualifying match. The Albanian national team came to town to play the Serbian team at Belgrade's Partizan Stadium. If you're a student of history, just the name of the stadium should raise an eyebrow.

In the heat of the match, some jokester attached an Albanian national flag to a drone and flew it over the stadium. The crowd, consisting mostly of Serbian locals, got pissed. They raised Serbian flags and started a deafening nationalist chant. Check out the view from the stands:

At the end of the video, you can see that a Serbian player managed to snatch the flag from the drone. His name? Stefan Mitrovic, which sounds quite similar to the name of an infamous Kosovo town where Serbs and Albanians routinely beat the living snot out of each other. I'm sure that this coincidence didn't help things. What happened next was pure bedlam. Check it out:

Can someone answer this for me? What type of person brings flare guns to a soccer match? Who thinks, "yeah, I might need this tonight?" I don't get it. I don't even have the guts to sneak a can of beer into Yankee Stadium, yet there are people who bring flare guns to watch a sporting event. Anyway, I digress.

The Albanian team ran for the locker room as they were being attacked from the stands. UEFA officials suspended the match and are considering disciplinary action. The good news is that it seems that the violence in the stands didn't spill out onto the street.

This brawl reminds me of the contentious and violent soccer matches that preceded the Serbo-Croatian War in 1990. But, I wouldn't draw any analogies just yet. Last night's chaos might just be a particularly Balkan way of doing sports. At any rate, don't expect to see anything similar during tonight's Royals-Orioles matchup. DBM

News reports are suggesting today that Kim Jong-un's prolonged absence from the public spotlight may be the result of him having been deposed from power. Experts point to the sudden appearance of top DPRK officials in Seoul at the closing of the Asian Games, the admission of DPRK officials that their country runs labor camps, and their sudden opening to questions form other countries at the United Nations.

In contrast, this Reuters report, citing state media reacting to the reports above, states that Kim injured his leg and is still in firm control of the regime, but will need to stay out of the public eye for the unbelievably long, round estimate of 100 days. They could just be buying time of course.

Meanwhile, reports such as this one from NBC News report that Kim's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, is in charge while he is out of commission. Will she be the new leader? Are we seeing a transition in power? The debate among pundits and experts shows us a North Korea that is even more mysterious than usual.